If your idea of a great weekend morning is taking some practice swings at a driving range, or heading out to the links to play a round, this could be a good project for you. This project is designed to answer the question, what is the relationship between club loft angle and the distance that the ball travels when struck.
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Sports_p013

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

To do this experiment you must have sufficient golf experience to swing a golf club consistently and have access to golf clubs.

There is a bewildering selection of different golf balls to choose from for playing the game. Some less expensive, some more expensive, all with different claims for the advantages they will bring to your game. This project can help you determine which type of golf ball is right for you.
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Sports_p015

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

You must be an experienced golfer to do this project. You'll need a large open space where you can hit a lot of balls (and recover them).

Material Availability

Specialty items

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

Make sure that you have plenty of space outdoors, and no one downrange.

The goal of every golfer is to hit the golf ball as far as possible down the fairway. A key factor in determining the distance that the ball will travel is the velocity of the club when it strikes the ball. In this sports science fair project, you will determine exactly how distance is related to club velocity. Time to tee off!
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Sports_p056

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

You will probably get the most out of this science fair project if you golf regularly. You will need access to golf clubs and a driving range.

Have you ever wondered why golf balls have a pattern of dimples on their surface? The dimples are important for determining how air flows around the ball when it is in flight. The dimple pattern, combined with the spin imparted to the ball when hit by the club, greatly influence the ball's flight path. For example, backspin generates lift, prolonging flight. When the ball is not hit squarely with the club, varying degrees of sidespin are imparted to the ball. A clockwise sidespin (viewed from…
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Sports_p012

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

To do this experiment you must have sufficient golf experience to swing a golf club consistently and have access to golf clubs.

This project is an experiment in classical physics. You'll be following in Galileo's footsteps, and investigating Newton's laws of motion, but you'll be taking advantage of modern video recording technology to make your measurements. Sure, it's been done before, but if you do it yourself, you can get a firm understanding of these important concepts.
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In baseball, coaches use hit charts to track the results of every hit each player makes, giving a measure of the player's performance. Have you ever wondered what things affect where a baseball goes when a player hits it with a bat? In this project you will set up an experiment to hit a ping pong ball in a controlled manner using a toy catapult, then learn about the physics of baseball by making your own hit chart.
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Sports_p060

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

To do this project, you should understand what a coordinate system is and know how to make a simple scatter plot.

Material Availability

This science project requires a kit available from the Science Buddies [# Link Name="Sports_p060.3" Value="HtmlAnchor" HtmlText="store" #]. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. Estimated project time includes shipping.

Cost

Average ($40 - $80)

Safety

Never launch projectiles at people or animals. Be careful not to get your fingers caught in the moving parts of the catapult.

Use a video camera to analyze the angle of lift with different clubs. Measure the distance the ball travels. Be sure to conduct a sufficient number of trials with each club so that your results are consistent. This can also be a great way to work on your swing! (Idea from Goodstein, 1999, 83-85.)
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Have you ever seen a "Hail Mary" football pass, where the quarterback tries to throw the ball as far as possible to reach the end zone and score a touchdown? Or a last second game tying soccer goal from midfield? How far the ball will go does not just depend on how hard a player throws or kicks it; it also depends on the angle at which the player launches the ball. In this sports science project, you will investigate how launch angle affects the distance that a ball travels by filming…
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Sports_p036

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

This science project requires a computer with internet access and a digital video camera with a tripod. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Be sure to do this science project in an open area like an empty football field, where you will not hit people or buildings with the ball.

You can find this page online at: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/search.shtml?v=solt&pi=Sports_p014

You may print and distribute up to 200 copies of this document annually, at no charge, for personal and classroom educational use. When printing this document, you may NOT modify it in any way. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies.